IAEA Comprehensive Safety Report Endorses Japan's Ocean Release Plan

After a two-year review, IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi presented the IAEA's comprehensive safety assessment report to PM Fumio Kishida on July 4, 2023, concluding that Japan's plan to discharge ALPS-treated water into the Pacific met international safety standards and would have 'negligible radiological impact on people and the environment.' The 137-page report was the most comprehensive international assessment of the plan. China immediately criticized the report as one-sided; environmental groups including Greenpeace also disputed the IAEA's findings, arguing tritium's potential biological impacts were underestimated.